Machining metal and other materials is known to be useable to produce a variety of products. For example, a workpiece may be machined to form a housing for a consumer electronic device such as a phone, tablet computer, or monitor. However, machining materials may take a relatively long period of time. For example, milling may typically involve directing a milling cutter about the periphery of a workpiece a number of times in order to machine the workpiece into a desired shape.
Further, repetitively directing a milling cutter about the periphery of a workpiece may introduce the possibility for increased imprecision in the machining processes. In this regard, to the extent the milling cutter deviates from the desired position as it moves about the periphery of the workpiece the resulting product may also deviate from the desired shape. Thus, since the milling cutter may move about the periphery of the workpiece numerous times, each pass may produce differing deviations from the desired shape of the end product.
The errors in the shape of the resulting product may be alleviated by sanding, polishing, or performing other finishing operations. However, in order to remove the imperfections in the end product, the finishing procedures may remove additional material that causes the end product to deviate further from the desired shape and size. For example, the thickness of the end product may be reduced by the finishing processes below a desired thickness. Further, finishing procedures may require additional time and expense that further increases the cost of the product. Accordingly, improved machining procedures may be desirable.